Wednesday, May 30, 2012

“The Aquino government has yet to present a convincing program to
remedy the existing shortages in the education sector. How can basic
education qualitatively function amid these dire shortages?” – Rep.
Raymond Palatino

MANILA – School opening is just a week from now, the Department of
Education (DepEd) has started its “Brigada Eskwela” where teachers, as
well as parents and students, are mobilized to clean their respective
schools in preparation for the coming school year. The DepEd had also
announced their preparations on the implementation of the K to 12
program for grade one and grade seven students. However, perennial
problems in the basic education system remain.

The K to 12 program is a flagship program of President Benigno
“Noynoy” S. Aquino III. With the implementation of the said program, the
government aims to improve the quality of basic education in the
country.

“We have this new curriculum to be implemented, but shortages are not
being addressed so the same problems would just occur this school
year,” said France Castro, secretary general of the Alliance of
Concerned Teachers (ACT) told Bulatlat.com.

Data from DepEd still shows huge shortages in classrooms, text books,
chairs and teachers. According to the latest figures of DepEd, the
country still needs an additional 50,921 classrooms, 74,178 teachers,
123,196 toilets, 62.4 million textbooks and about 1.3 million classroom
chairs.

On the other hand, Anakbayan lamented, the “Brigada Eskwela” only
underscores the government’s neglect of the education sector. “We see
parents, teachers, and volunteers helping out to prepare the schools for
the class opening. Most of the materials were donated by private
institutions and individuals, yet, DepEd is admitting that a lot is
still needed. This clearly manifests that the government does not
prioritize the education sector,” said Cherry Orendain, spokeswoman of
Anakbayan-Davao..... MORE

05/30/2012
The jury is out but the atmosphere remains that of uncertainty where
one doesn’t feel certain over what had transpired. It seemed as if one
is being suddenly roused from a bad dream.

That bad dream was the
painful impeachment process in which a top official of the land was
again accused by a group with the same yellow tint that had assumed for
itself and its usual members the role of being guardians of morality and
virtues, characteristics that can hardly been found in their nature.

Most
Filipinos have formed an opinion on Chief Justice Renato Corona but
only few can confidently say that their views which were formed over the
almost five months of the impeachment trial have been well-founded.

The
campaign to oust Corona started even before Noynoy assumed office or
during the campaign period when Noynoy said he would not recognize
Corona as head of the Supreme Court (SC) and classified him among the
midnight appointees of Gloria..... MORE

05/30/2012
Many may not realize it as yet, but whatever the verdict, what will
become evident is that the independence of the Supreme Court and the
entire judiciary will have been damaged — especially if conviction sets
in.

If an acquittal verdict is handed down, the vindictive Noynoy
will not stop hounding the Chief Justice — as he would have already
planned yet another impeachment complaint — as he himself had admitted.

Such
threats and acts in themselves already provide the chill factor in the
judiciary, enough for this branch of government to start pleasing the
executive by ruling favorably on whatever and however his administration
wants it to rule.... MORESource: The Daily Tribune

Russia is firmly dedicated not to let pass an initiative of foreign military intervention into Syria in the UN Security Council.

­“We always said we’re strongly against any kind of external
interference into the Syrian conflict, because it would only worsen the
situation and bring unpredictable consequences for Syria and the whole
region,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax.

He also said that Russia is opposing the convention of a new UN Security Council meeting on Syria in the near future.... MORESource: RT.com

US defense secretary Leon Panetta said America needs to increase its
military role in the Asian Pacific, restating Washington's concern over
the reality of China’s rapidly developing military influence.

"That reality is inescapable for our country and for our
military, which has already begun broadening and deepening our
engagement throughout the Asia-Pacific," Panetta said.

On the
eve of an international peace summit scheduled to kick off in Singapore
on June 1, Panetta addressed graduates of the US Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Maryland. The defense secretary called the Asia-Pacific one
of the “key projects” for future American mariners. .... MORE

Defense lawyer Dinah Rose stood up after the ruling to highlight the
fact that the judgment was made based on legal precedents not argued in
the appeal.

“It would appear that a majority of the
members of this court have decided the point on the basis of the
interpretation of the Vienna Convention. A point that was not argued in
the appeal and which we have had no opportunity to address,” said Dinah Rose.

Under
UK law an EAW can only be issued by a judge and therefore Assange’s
lawyers had argued the extradition order against him was invalid as it
was made by a Swedish prosecutor..... MORE

Palparan battalion turns Davao communities into ghost towns
“Some are very afraid to leave their houses and go to their farms.
Residents sleep under their beds. Many community leaders were forced to
leave because of the soldiers of the 28th and 67th IB who harass
household members and subject them to interrogation.”

An independent solidarity and fact finding mission Duyog sa Panaw
said farmers’ communities in Lupon, Davao Oriental have been turned into
ghost towns because of the intense military operations. The 701st
Brigade, notoriously known as the “Palparan Battalion,” because it was
once headed by retired major general Jovito Palparan who is now the
subject of a widespread manhunt for countless human rights violations.

Duyog sa Panaw conducted a fact-finding mission in Sitio Kalasagan
and Logdeck from May 24 to 25. When the members of the mission arrived,
military forces were highly visible in the communities. Currently
deployed in the areas are the 28th IB under Lt Col Leopolde Imbang,
Jr.; and the 67th IB under Lt. Col. Ruben Basio. The soldiers have
established camp right in the heart of the communities, with some taking
temporary residence in the barangay halls, while others right in the
houses of some residents..... MORE

05/30/2012
By the time this piece sees print we will already know whether Chief
Justice (CJ) Renato Corona stays in his post or gets the boot. Judging
from the public reaction immediately after the oral arguments and Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile’s questioning last Monday it is clear that
the nation is almost evenly divided on the court’s possible verdict.

This
five month old trial with all the side issues and 24/7 commentaries, in
and out of the court, has become such a divisive issue that healing the
wounds will definitely be a priority concern whatever the result will
be.

Which is why we reiterate the almost unanimous call of an
exasperated nation for all our public officials, especially those who
skewered Corona no end to face up to his challenge: Sign a waiver to
open their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALns) to
full scrutiny to include, among others, a clear listing of all their
real property assets and their bank accounts. As Corona himself advised,
this unconditional signing of the waiver initially by the parties in
this impeachment trial and, later, by all other public servants should
culminate in a revision of the SALn rules to clearly state what the
requirements of disclosure and accountability will go a long way in
bringing our people together into the light of transparency and
accountability. By this effort, such will no longer just empty slogans
and political gestures but real and responsible performance of their
oaths as public servants..... MORE

The
Senate impeachment court, in a vote of 20-3, convicted Supreme Court
Chief Justice Renato Corona of culpable violation of the Constitution
and betrayal of public trust owing to his failure to disclose all
properties and other possessions in his statement of assets, liabilities
and net worth (SALn) to end four months of a politically-charged
process.

An overwhelming majority of senator-judges, including
the presiding officer, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, delivered the
guilty verdict that automatically stripped Corona of his position as
chief magistrate.

The prosecution panel, however, cannot lay claim
to have convincingly won its case as it was Corona’s testimony that led
most of the senator-judges to rule in favor of conviction and not the
pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution panel that is led by
allies of President Aquino in the House of Representatives..... MORE

By Mario J. Mallari 05/30/2012
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) yesterday scored
pro-Aquino Akbayan Party for its alleged role in massive military abuses
and human rights violations in the Bondoc Peninsula and in southern
Quezon Province during the past months.

In a statement, the CPP
blamed Akbayan, which is a close ally of President Aquino, for allegedly
acting as the civilian arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
in its anti-insurgency campaign in the Southern Luzon areas.

“The
peasant masses and people of South Quezon and in the Bondoc Peninsula
are suffering from grave military abuses as a result of the intensified
military operations of the AFP,” the CPP said..... MORE

By Angie M. Rosales 05/30/2012By Fernan J. Angeles 05/30/2012
President Aquino saw a conviction coming but backed out from
addressing the nation at the last minute after the Senate impeachment
court handed a guilty verdict on Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato
Corona.

Corona in a statement, however, said his conviction was
the result of vindictive politics and accused Aquino of using government
resources and machineries to launch a campaign to demonize him.

Corona
maintained that he has a clear conscience and that he was innocent of
the allegations contained in the articles of impeachment filed against
him.

He was convicted on Article 2 of the complaint stating that he did not sufficiently disclosed assets in his statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALn)..... MORE

Proponents
of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s conviction yesterday before the Senate
impeachment court repeatedly bandied about a ruling by the high court
which ordered the dismissal from service of a lower court employee
found guilty of failing to disclose her ownership of a market stall in her statement of assets.

The
prosecutors and senator-judges alike cited the supposed disparity in
the dispensation of justice for “lowly” persons and senior government
officials.

Online observers commented that the dismissed clerk
probably was elated by her revenge on Corona for having ordered her
dismissal as suggested by the senator-judges citing the SC ruling..... MORE

05/30/2012
Malaysia has voiced out support for the Philippine position that the
resolution of the Panatag Shoal dispute with China should be based on
the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Vice President
Jejomar Binay revealed yesterday.

In a related development,
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin held a
bilateral talk with his Chinese counterpart — Defense Minister Liang
Guanglie — in Cambodia where they agreed to keep the communication lines
open amid the continuing standoff at the disputed Panatag (Scarborough)
Shoal.

In Binay’s meeting at the Malaysian Prime Minister’s
office, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak had favored
the participation of member-countries of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) who were also claimants to the Spratlys in talks
to resolve the Panatag dispute..... MORE

05/30/2012
Lawmakers have filed a bill requiring Local Government Units (LGUs) to
use garbage trucks with onboard compactor for the collection and
transportation of solid wastes.

Buhay Reps. Irwin Tieng and
Mariano Michael Velarde said House Bill 6117 aims to address the
increasing volume of garbage in every household or community and the
need to advance the country’s system of collection and disposal.

The
bill seeks to require the use by garbage trucks of onboard compactor
that compacts solid wastes while in transit. It is also in keeping with
the goal of Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as “Ecological Solid
Waste Management Act of 2000,” to reduce solid wastes volume and adopt
waste minimization measures..... MORE